Rivian is the next automaker to adopt Tesla’s charging plugs | Ars Technica
Existing Rivian owners will be able to use an adapter to charge at Superchargers.
This is upsetting since Tesla was going to adopt the CCS standard at their charging stations, since as far as I understand it, they were the only manufacturer with an unusual charging plug. Most everyone else was using CCS.
This announcement now means we're farther away from a standard charging port, with Tesla, Ford, GM, and now Rivian adopting one set and others adopting another at the moment. I don't care which one "wins" in the end or which is better, just pick one and be done with it.
I’d say it means that North America is finally moving to a single standard. All the other companies will get on board eventually. And the Tesla connector is better, so that’s just a bonus.
While I am not against it, I am sorry to see that it appears we are creating a de-facto charging monopoly. If Tesla opened the standard for 3rd party stations I would be all on board.
For what it's worth, all of the technical specifications are open and published by Tesla. I believe they a design patent, but that they've committed to open use of it as with their other patents.
Hyundai said they were open to it as well but would defer to owner's before deciding.
I’m a little irritated that the government didn’t step in and declare a standard before EV charging stations were built in the US. Charging stations are expensive, and they’re going to become increasingly important infrastructure. We want people to buy electric cars, but now the early adopters who didn’t buy a Tesla are being punished. This was NOT the time to adopt a “let the market decide” attitude.
It's this a good or bad thing?
I'd recommend watching Technology Connection's take on it, as he was pretty outspoken against the Tesla plug a while back: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjny4u5THpU
As someone who isn't sold on electric vehicles yet, this is a very good thing for me. Proprietary charging stations are one of my main reasons for not buying an EV yet.
It's so wild to me that the USA is such a clusterfuck of charging ports and networks. Here in Germany, we have bascially CCS for fast charging and a smaller plug (that is compatible) for slow charging. So every car can charge on every station - with very few expectations. Charging my car is as simple as charging my phone.